Senior Will Swigart

What is your favorite part of Repertory Theater?

My favorite part of Rep is definitely the community. But also the shows we get to put on. Every show that I have ever been a part of in Rep is just a high quality production, and we just have wonderful directors and a wonderful tech team and we get to put on really good performances that you don’t really see in a lot of other places and I’m really grateful that we have that at Carmel. It’s just really exciting, especially with the shows that we’ve done this year with the new studio theater that we’ve gotten and its really cool to see how we can use the new stuff that we’ve been given in a way to amplify our performances, both in technological aspects, but also just the rehearsal space.

What is your least favorite part of Repertory Theater?

I would say time management because especially when you are a part of one of the shows, you have to really lock in, especially if you are an important role in the show, you’re going to be having rehearsals, 2-4 times a week, and when it gets towards the performance, you’re going to have rehearsal every single day, during class and after school until late at night. If you’re taking hard classes especially, it’s important that you are on top of your work because I know that there were times where I wasn’t, and then I would get mad at myself because I should have managed my time better. 

What is your favorite memory from Repertory Theater?

Last year, Repertory Theatre went on a New York trip over fall break, where we watched two broadway productions, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Into the Wood and it was a lot of fun and we got to go around New York and I’ve never been to New York so it was exciting to be in the city that I’d heard so much about and like immerse myself in the theater culture of New York. We got to go on some fun tours and see the drama bookstore and like it was just really fun to bond with everyone. 

Would you recommend CHS students to take theater?

One thousand percent I recommend taking it. This is probably my favorite class at the high school that I’m a part of and getting to be in for the past four years. I look forward to this class every single gold day. The people are just wonderful and Mrs. Cassidy and Mr. Steckbeck are amazing directors and I would recommend taking it. I mean if you take the IB, it’s a full weight class where you still have to put in the work, but it’s fun work. You get to do interesting research projects and you get to put together fun performances, and the IB aspect of it is much lighter than I would consider other IB classes to be. I think overall, it’s totally worth taking it, or any theater class for that matter because just getting to be a part of this at a school this size helps you get so much exposure to the art form.  

What was your favorite CHS show that you were a part of and why?

My favorite show that i’ve ever done is Puffs. I love Harry Potter and getting to be one of the three main characters was really fun because I had never been, at least on the Carmel High School main stage, I had never been in a lead role before and the show had a lot of fun technical aspects and it was fun getting to work with Mr. Steckbeck and the rest of the cast. It was just a really fun class and I really enjoyed the show because it was a comedy and it was  actually funny, which is always important, and the audience absolutely loved it, and also I got to add my own spin on things because I got to improv certain lines and add little bits throughout. 

Senior Olivia Jones

What is your favorite part of Repertory Theater?

I think my favorite part of Rep is definitely the friends and Rep has really helped me grow as a person with how I interact with people and it really made me who I am today. Experiencing all four years really helped me build up my acting talent and really made me confident in myself whenever I go on the stage.

What is your least favorite part of Repertory Theater?

Definitely time management because I know this year I had other things going on that kind of messed up how much I was doing my homework but also with the shows I was mainly focused on getting the shows done and making sure they’re good and kind of putting my homework behind to the very last minute and it was really stressful, so I recommend not doing that.

What is your favorite memory from Repertory Theater?

My favorite memory is probably from my final show at Three Musketeers because we were just able to, well we weren’t able to but we did it anyways, we just went wild and we kept on adding in different bits that really made the show extra funny and really brought the audience to life again for that final show and especially for the seniors that year it was just a great final show for all of us

Would you recommend CHS students to take theater?

I would one hundred percent recommend Rep because I learned that when I’m most prepared I perform my best, whether it’s traditional performances or performing for a test and I feel like theater was most exemplified and I think people will tell you it, but sometimes you’re not sure until you try it for yourself.

What was your favorite CHS show that you were a part of and why?

My favorite show had to be Three Musketeers because the whole experience was really good and I feel like our cast really bonded and we were able to make it a fun show that I really enjoyed.

Senior Sophia Malerbi

What is your favorite part of Repertory Theater?

My favorite thing is being with all my friends for sure, but also having a space to practice and art form that isn’t a traditional art form like the performing arts, but also doesn’t involve music, because I feel like a lot of people think the performing arts are only band, orchestra, and choir, but theater is a really good way to get my energy out and also hone a skill and ability that you don’t really get in any other space to practice. It’s also really nice that CHS offers it as a class, because there are so many high schools that don’t have a theater program at all and you have to do theater in other places instead. I feel really fortunate that we have it structured where I get to do this thing that I love every other day. 

What is your least favorite part of Repertory Theater?

My least favorite part is that there is actually a lot of miscommunication with the directors and it makes it really hard to organize things or get things done, especially being co-president of Rising Stars, we have to do a lot of organizing outside of school and it can be really difficult to do that when there is a lot of miscommunication. We all try to work really hard to make sure that everything gets done, but that doesn’t always happen because of miscommunication. 

What is your favorite memory from Repertory Theater?

My favorite memory is probably the tech week of Three Musketeers and being backstage and messing around with everyone while we’re all in costume and you are finally getting familiar with everyone’s parts and you’ve heard it all over again. I feel like tech week is when you really create your bits during the show, and it just makes it so much more fun. It feels like the show lasts forever, but it was so much fun and I feel like I grew a lot closer with the people in the cast and that show was such a good growing and learning experience for me. 

Would you recommend CHS students to take theater?

I would totally recommend auditioning for Rep or just taking a theater class because acting is not only a skill that you will probably use in your life, but also it really helped me with public speaking and gaining confidence. I think theater is also really good because we do a lot of historical research and really push ourselves in the bounds of theatrical knowledge.

What was your favorite CHS show that you were a part of and why?

Probably Three Musketeers because it was just fun because it was like a fantasy so it was just a lot of make believe and it was like the original play-pretend almost.